Wilkins, Kim: The Autumn Castle

ISBN: 044661663X

From Publishers Weekly

Wilkins, a star in her native Australia, strikes a tantalizing balance between pastoral and grotesque in her American fantasy debut. Christine Starlight lives in an artist's collective in Berlin with her lover, Jude, and their companions. She is haunted by two memories from childhood: the gruesome death of her parents and the abduction of her best friend, May. May, it turns out, was not abducted, but was lost by her mother in a bargain with a faery; in the enchanted world May now calls home--and which now calls her Mayfridh--she is the queen. Circumstances bring the two worlds together, and when Mayfridh crosses over and reunites with Christine, she also falls in love with Jude. Jude, though, carries with him a whopper of a secret, which Wilkins manages to conceal nicely. Meanwhile, Mandy Z., a madman who has hated faeries since childhood and who happens to own the building in which Christine and Jude live, is hard at work on a "Bone Wife," made from the bones of the faeries he has murdered. The brutal scenes involving Mandy Z. provide a sharp contrast to the gentle, often touching story of Christine and her inner battles. The well-executed conclusion ends this fascinating adventure on a high note.

I'm a huge fan of Ms. Wilkins, and this story did not disappoint me at all. I found it well developed, excellently pace, and full of adventure and romance. Plus, it ended exactly how I wanted it too (I thought she could have taken more time with the ending, but maybe that's just me).

I couldn't decide if I hated Mayfridh or loved her throughout the book, and I think that this is exactly the desire that Ms. Wilkins is trying to draw out from us. She did such an excellent job with the characters. I also found that the book didn't read too "Australian" like some of her other books have done. The language was very... middle English, with no slang that's specific to any continent/culture. It worked, as the main character is supposed to be American.

Anyway, definitely for adults due to a couple of sex scenes, use of language, violence, and general adult themes (not your childhood fairytale!), but I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great book with an edge.